Was It Just a Dream?
by reno385
Summary: Orihime Inoue wakes up one morning to learn that no one remembers Rukia or the Soul Society, and things are back to normal at home. Was it all a dream? Or was there something more...?


**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the characters. Except Yoruichi, I own her. Really I do! Okay never mind I don't.**

Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction in a while and my first Bleach fic ever, so I might be rusty. R + R greatly appreciated please! This fic takes place during the Soul Society arc, a.k.a. the episodes currently showing on Adult Swim.

**Chapter 1**- One Crazy Dream

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" cried the alarm clock, slowly inching along the bed stand as it effervescently vibrated. Orihime Inoue turned in bed, muttering in her sleep.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

She turned again, digging her head into the pillow.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wa… hey, get the hell outta bed!" The clock fell off the stand, hitting the floor with a crash. She abruptly opened her eyes as the sound reverberated through her head. She sleepily surveyed the room. It was her room, and she was in her bed.

"Hello?" she called out, as if someone was standing just behind the door. As she began to recollect her wits, she looked out her window at the bright morning sky above, sunlight bursting into the bedroom.

"I'm in… my room?" She stared vacantly for a moment, then suddenly gasped and sprung out of bed. "What am I doing here? I'm supposed to be saving Rukia at the Soul Society." She frantically looked around, stumbling from a head rush. She clumsily trotted out the door into her hallway. "Ichigo!" she called. "Uryu! Chad!"

She ran into the living room, glancing at the picture of her brother on the table. In the kitchen, she saw that everything was normal still. There was some leftover marshmallow carrot soup on the stove. She kept calling out the names of her comrades, hoping desperately for someone to say, "I'm here, Orihime."

"Ganju! Yoruichi! Kukaku!"

She ran out the front door and squinted under the bright summer sun at the surroundings. It was as normal as could be. A schoolmate of hers, dressed in full uniform, looked at her, looked away, then did a double take. He blushed, waving. Suddenly she noticed that she was standing outside wearing only panties and a skimpy tee-shirt. She embarrassing stepped back inside to quickly put on a pair of shorts lying conveniently in reach and went back out, calling to the boy. "Why are you dressed for school?" she asked.

"Because I'll get in trouble if I don't wear my uniform," he answered in a strange, questioning voice.

"But… isn't it summer vacation?"

He shook his head. "Not for another two weeks, no. You better get dressed soon, class starts in a half hour."

She whined, confused. She ran back into her room and rummaged through her dresser. After the last day of school, she neatly folded her uniform in the bottom draw. So it just had to be in there. It couldn't have just grown legs and walked out. Then she stopped cold, and shifted her eyes to the open closet.

There it was. Her uniform was cleanly ironed, neatly on a hanger, ready for her to wear. She shook her head in disbelief. "What's going on?" Then, digging deeper she found another outfit in the dresser: a pink tee-shirt and gray sweatpants with two red stripes. The clothes she wore to the Soul Society.

Orihime stood up, panicking. She ran to the bed stand and, searching in there, found the two blue flower pendants her brother gave her and hastily put them in her hair. She touched them and said, "Shun'o! Tsubaki!"

Nothing happened.

She called out the names of all the fairies—the manifestations of her spirit energy—but none of them came. Orihime bit her lip, pondering. She had no idea what was going on. She then snatched the uniform in her closet, took a quick shower, and was soon out of the house, running down the street. She had hardly brushed her teeth, and her hair was damp and full of knots, but she didn't care. She just ran and ran.

Orihime made it to her class seconds before the tardy bell rang and plopped down at her desk. Tatsuki, in the desk next to hers, looked surprised. "Orihime, did you wake up late or something?"

"Yeah," she hastily answered, short of breath. As the bell rang, the teacher began the daily history lecture. Orihime wasn't listening, though. Her eyes glanced around the classroom, searching for her friends. Uryu was sitting in his normal seat. So was Chad. And Ichigo. Next to him though, was an empty seat.

Rukia's seat.

Orihime paid no attention. When the class was over, she saw Ichigo walk out the door, and quickly followed him into the hallway. "Ichigo!!!" she called loudly, tripping over her feet and landing on her face as he turned around.

"Oh, hi… Orihime. Are you all right?" He looked down at her with a befuddled expression.

She quickly got onto her feet, laughing nervously. "What's going on here? Why aren't we in the Soul Society? Did we save Rukia?"

Now he was downright confused. "Er… Soul Society? Isn't that the new TV show that came out last week?"

"No, you know what I mean! We went there to save Rukia! The soul reaper."

"Soul… reaper? Rukia? Um… sorry, I gotta get to my next class. Later Tatsuki," he called, glancing behind Orihime. She turned around to see her best friend standing behind her. "What the hell was that all about?"

"Um… hold on." She ran down the opposite direction, chasing down Uryu. When she called him, he turned around, glaring at her, pushing up the bridge of his glasses. "What is it?" he demanded in a cold voice.

"I'm… so confused. Did we go back in time or something?

"…"

"I mean, we went to the Soul Society."

"…"

"We fought soul reapers. You hate them don't you? Being a Quincy and all."

"A Quincy? What is that supposed to mean? Do me a favor, Orihime, and just don't talk to me unless you have something to say that makes sense."

She stared into his eyes, but these weren't the kind, bashful eyes she knew. They were cold and calculating. He abruptly turned around and walked away. She still stared as he walked away, frozen.

Did she really befriend Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad? Do Rukia, hollows, soul reapers, and the Soul Society really exist? Or was it all just a dream…

Looks like she'll have to wait until chapter 2 to find out. Please review! Any input or advice is appreciated very much! Thanks for reading.


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